Rail Trip Headed For Del Mar

Trainer Ron Ellis said his TVG/Betfair Hollywood Gold Cup winner Rail Trip will be shipping to Del Mar to training for the grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic there Sept. 1. Ellis made the comments while serving as a commentator for TVG Sunday while also mentioning that he has plenty of options should Rail Trip not train up to par on the Del Mar surface. Ellis went on to say that he has many options for Rail Trip but that the Breeders' Cup Classic in November was the ultimate goal.

The 4-year-old gelded son of Jump Start has now won 6 of 8 career races with his only losses coming in runner-up finishes in the Mervyn Leroy Handicap in May and the Californian Stakes in June at Hollywood Park. He won the Gold Cup by tracking pacesetter Tres Borrachos then taking command at the top of the stretch and winning going away by some four lengths. Tres Borrachos rain a good second more than three lengths ahead of the filly Life is Sweet in third.

Sunday at Hollywood Park, the year of the female continued as trainer Doug O'Neil sent out the impressive filly Necessary Evil to win the grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile Stakes over four other colts. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Necessary Evil went straight to the lead and was never threatened by second-place finisher Zip Quick or Classical Slew in third. The good looking bay filly is bred to take that talent much further being by Harlan's Holiday, a multiple grade 1 winner at 1-1/8 miles.

A few races later at Hollywood Park, O'Neil took the $100,000 Landaluce Stakes for fillies with Repo who also ran a carbon copy of her stablemate's race while winning wire-to-wire.

Atomic Rain gave himself an invitatin to the $1 million Haskell Invitational with his impressive victory in the $175,000 Longbranch Stakes at Monmouth Park Saturday. The 3-year-old son of Smart Strike will have the homefield advantage and more in the Haskell on Aug. 1 as Monmouth Park is the base of trainer Kelly Breen who is the leading trainer at the current meeting. Atomic Rain was 16th in the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum Brands.


Arkansas Derby winner and Kentucky Derby four-place finisher Papa Clem finished a well beaten third in the Longbranch after battling second-place finisher Despite the Odds down the stretch.